Global Internet Backbone Traffic Grows 40% in 2012

International Internet capacity growth fell to the lowest pace in five years, decreasing from 68 percent in 2008 to 40 percent in 2012, TeleGeography says, though international Internet bandwidth continues to grow rapidly, more than doubling between 2010 and 2012, to 77 Tbps. 

That should not come as a terrible surprise. There is a "law of large numbers" at work here. Every new venture that gains end user traction shows high growth rates at first, from a low installed base. As the base of users or customers grows, growth rates naturally slow. 

With the installed base of capacity usage now a large number, growth rates are destined to slow, for the same reason. 

Average international Internet traffic grew 35 percent in 2012, down from 39 percent in 2011, and peak traffic grew 33 percent, well below the 57 percent increase recorded in 2011.

On the other hand, content delivery networks and local caching technologies do reduce the need for new long-haul capacity by storing popular content closer to the end-users. 

Apple TV is Not About the "TV"

Apple TV will succeed not as a "TV" or a "decoder" but only as a service offering the professional video people normally expect to see on a video subscription service, which makes Apple TV a tougher battle than creating a successful MP3 or smart phone ecosystem.

In creating the iTunes and iOS phone ecosystems, Apple faced a weakened music industry and a fragmented mobile service provider industry.

The video ecosystem is highly entrenched and used to dealing with potential disrupters. In addition, Apple faces formidable other viable contenders, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, Bloomberg argues. But winning will require extensive licensing agreements with content owners and video distributors who are historically suspicious of interlopers that threaten to undermine the control content owners now exercise in the ecosystem. 

Without access to large amounts of that content, any effort to "change," "reinvent" or "disrupt" TV is destined to fail.

Cable and media companies are concerned that a better-designed Apple product will undermine their business model, says Walter Price, an investor with RCM Capital Management. 

“It’s a tough problem because the cable companies and media companies are not very enthusiastic about the prospect of Apple creating a better user interface,” said Price. 

Online "Oversharing" is a Global Problem

According to a recent multi-country study commissioned by Intel and conducted by Ipsos Observer, 60 percent of respondents believe  "oversharing" is an issue, meaning people divulge too much information about themselves online, with Japan being the only exception.

About half of adults around the world feel overloaded by the amount of information people share online. Yet, adults and teens across the globe are  online

While the survey revealed that digital sharing on mobile devices helps many people feel more connected to others, the tendency to share too much information can annoy others for various reasons. 

Adults and teens from each country had differing opinions on top digital sharing pet peeves. Constant complaining, posting inappropriate photos, using profanity and sharing too many life details and personal information were prominent responses.

Intel's 2012 "Mobile Etiquette" survey examined the current state of mobile etiquette and evaluated how adults and teens in eight countries share and consume information online, as well as how digital sharing impacts culture and relationships. The research was conducted in the United States in March and a follow-up study was conducted in Australia, Brazil, China (adults only), France, India, Indonesia and Japan from June to August.

Argentina Decides to Create its Own Mobile Company

Argentina's government apparently is canceling an auction for third generation (3G) spectrum that represents about a third of all potential 3G spectrum in Argentina.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner has greatly expanded the state's role in the economy since she took office in 2007.

Kirchner shocked investors earlier in 2012 when she seized a controlling stake in Argentina's biggest oil company YPF SA  from Spain's Repsol SA.

Now telecommunications appears to be the next sector that will see an increased government presence, some would argue. 

Argentina boasts one of the highest rates of mobile-phone ownership in the world, with about 55 million wireless subscribers in a country of almost 41 million people.

Instead of licensing that spectrum, the Argentine government will go into business as a service provider itself using the state-owned satellite company ARSAT for backhaul and core network.  So far, it is not clear whether that means Argentina will operate the network directly, or have a business partner do so. 

Argentina's $14 billion mobile phone market is now lead by America Movil's Claro, Telecom Italia's Personal Telefonica's Movistar. The canceled spectrum auction is a blow to Argentina's four incumbent wireless carriers--Telecom Argentina SA and subsidiaries of Mexico'sAmerica Movil SAB de CV, Spain'sTelefonica SA  and U.S.-based NII Holdings Inc. that submitted bids.

Claro, owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, was the only company seen as having the resources to build a network using the new spectrum allocation, and letting Claro win "would have led to more concentration," Argentina says. 

The government also is studying other ways of reducing what it claims is "monopoly control in the telecommunications business," citing the dominant positions of Telefonica and Telecom as an example. 

The government was initially planning to award 30 MHz of spectrum in the 1,900 MHz band for an area covering the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Misiones, Córdoba, Santiago del Estero, Chaco, Formosa, Catamarca, La Rioja, Tucumán, Salta, Jujuy and Santa Fe.

For the southern provinces of San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego, parts of Santa Fe and certain areas in Buenos Aires, the government planned to award 35 MHz in the 1,900 MHz band.

For the greater Buenos Aires area, the government was looking to award 7.5 MHz of spectrum in the 850 MHz band and 30 MHz in the 1,900 MHz band.

"This is not a state takeover," the Argentine government says. 

Smart Meter Shipments Grow 34% in Second Quarter 2012

Global smart meter shipments in the second quarter of 2012 grew 33.6 percent over the previous quarter, and were up nearly 51.3 percent year over year, according to  IDC Energy Insights. By the end of 2016, IDC expects worldwide annual meter shipments to surpass 130 million units.

The U.S. market continues to recede, after receiving an artificial bounce with the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with growth in the smart metering market now shifting to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.

In Europe,  many European Union member states have signaled their comitment to embrace smart metering in compliance with the European legislation mandating deployment of smart meters where economically feasible. These states are now in the process of finalizing the regulatory framework for their respective national rollouts, which are to be completed by 2020.

Apple iOS Devices Consume 8 Times More Web Content Than Some Samsung Devices

Though the comparison is in some ways unfair, Apple iOS users consume about eight times as much Web content as users of eight older Samsung models, including the Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II AT&T, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S II T-Mobile, Galaxy S II Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail. 

On the Chitika ad network between August 18^t and August 24^t, 2012,  iPhone users generate nearly eight times the Web traffic. 

Some of us might argue that the comparison in many ways pits heavier users (iPhones) with lighter users (the eight older Samsung models), and devices with low share against a single device with leading market share. 

EU Might Reduce Support for Broadband Deployment

To the extent that European Union broadband plans for 2020 rely on financial support from the European Commission, it now appears those plans might slow, as the EC itself now says infrastructure funding is shifting to transport and energy projects. 

It appears that funding levels originally foreseen now cannot be provided at the original levels. "The Presidency recognizes that it is, therefore, inevitable that the total level of expenditure proposed by the Commission, including all elements inside and outside of the MFF, will have to be adjusted downwards."

Translation: less money for the EC broadband plan.